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Shikaku eyes his son with curiosity. Despite his air of laziness (one almost identical to his own at the same age) the kid is putting more effort than normal into his shogi strategy. Actually, it’s something that’s been occurring more often lately, but this looks like he’s actually trying to win. Seems like his new group of friends that Shikaku has heard rumors about is good for Shikamaru. He’s not quite sure who all of them are, hasn’t had the time to check it out properly and the improvement in his son’s attitude has been enough for him up until now. There’s probably a report on them buried on his desk somewhere. He should probably dig that out and read it soon.
The problem with Shikamaru is that he (unlike his father) has nothing to bait him with into surpassing him. Shikaku isn’t the first Nara Jonin Commander, but he’s the first one who is also Clan Head. There’s really nothing better suited for Shikamaru’s talents than Jonin Commander, except maybe Hokage, and not even he would wish that on Konoha. People are sheep (and he didn’t realize the depth of that insult until he encountered some and realized that sheep are dirty, smelly animals with a lack of smarts that leaves them with an intellect about equal to the collective intelligence of a swarm of concussed gnats) and try to imitate their leaders.
All the Leaf needs is a bunch of pseudo-lazy ninja candidates complaining about how much bother everything is. The laziness works okay for Naras, but only because they have the sheer intelligence to make up for it. There’s not many smart enough to keep up with or surpass his clan members, and his Shikamaru is smarter than average even for the clan. Probably as smart as him, to be honest. Give him a few years, some experience, and (Kami, please!) some motivation, and the kid will be a proper terror. Always assuming he gets over his fear of making the wrong decision and quits second guessing himself, of course.
“Hey, dad. You’re not one of those depressing parents who judge their kids’ friends based on something they can’t help, are you?”
Ah, opening salvo. He wonders if his son is talking about the Uchiha boy or the Aburame boy, since he’s fairly sure the group contains both of them. “I try to judge people on their own actions, not on gossip. As long as your friends aren’t trying to tear you down or convince you to betray the village or our clan, I don’t have much to say about who you make friends with.”
He doesn’t think the Uchiha kid has any intentions that way, but better safe than sorry.
Shikamaru falls silent, apparently appeased by this. It’s several minutes later when he speaks up again. “Hey, dad. Did you know any Uzumakis?”
A quick glance confirms this is more curiosity than important to his son, although a stranger would be hard put to tell the difference. “Kushina? Or the Uzumakis in general?”
His son hesitates. “Kushina.”
He smiles fondly and chuckles. “She was something else. A real firecracker. Red hair and a temper to match, jumped headfirst into everything. Nice gal if she liked you. She didn’t always get along with your mother real well, too much alike, y’know? It was probably a good thing she only had eyes for Minato or the cat fights would have been terrifying.”
“Minato?”
“Her boyfriend. No one could believe he had the guts to confess when she got kidnapped or that she returned the sentiment, but they were good together.”
“She got kidnapped?”
“Yeah, because she-” He pauses. “Actually, I can’t talk about that.”
“Oh.” Shikamaru knows when to back off if something is classified. “So, was Kushina Naruto’s mom?”
And this is getting into dangerous territory. “Shikamaru, don’t ask any adult that ever again.”
His son stares at him for a long moment, and he knows that his answer is as good as an admission as far as his son is concerned. “What a drag. So, you won’t mind if I invite Naruto over, will you?”
It’s Shikaku’s turn to stare at his son. Apparently, while he’s been distracted by Shikamaru’s sudden attention to shogi, his son has been leading the conversation. Winning the shogi game is no contest, Shikamaru’s years yet from beating him at that, but it wasn’t shogi his son has been aiming to win here and has succeeded at. He could take a petty ‘victory’ and forbid it, but he doesn’t actually have anything against Naruto. And his son’s tolerance for pettiness is extremely low on a good day; he might never forgive Shikaku since a friend is involved.
“Do as you like. I’ll make sure your mother knows.”
The look of relief Shikamaru gives him is genuine and unfettered. “Did you know that he wants to be Hokage someday?”
Shikaku pauses slightly, then makes the last move to win the shogi game. Shades of his parents. Both Minato and Kushina had wanted to be Hokage. It’s weird to think something like that can be genetic. “Is that so?”
He rises abruptly. “I’ve got some reports to read, kid. Give me a couple days to break it to your mom before you invite your friend over, ne?”
“Bothersome.” Shikamaru opines, slumping more thoroughly into his usual lazy posture, but he’s a good kid. He’ll wait.
Yoshino won’t care, she was mildly fond of both Kushina and Minato, but she doesn’t like surprises much. And right now, he’s got a report on a bunch of kids to find and read. If Uzumaki and Uchiha are both in the group, he can’t afford to be blindsided when the council eventually decides to make an issue of it. What a drag.